Novellae Constitutiones
Encyclopedia
The Novellae Constitutiones (new constitutions), or Justinian's Novels, are one of the four major units of Roman law created by Roman Emperor
Justinian I
in the course of his long reign (AD 527-565). The other three pieces are: the Code, the Digest, and the Institutes. Together, the four parts are known as the Corpus Juris Civilis
. The Novels are laws enacted after 534, when he promulgated the second edition of the Code.
Justinian continued to legislate after he created the second edition of the Code. Thus, in his pragmatic sanction of 554 (Sanctio pragmatica pro petitione Vigilii), he foresaw that he would need to maintain a collection of these new constitutions modifying the Code (novellae constitutions, quae post nostri codicis confectionem). This he did in the form of an archive called the Liber legum or Libri legum.
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Justinian I
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
in the course of his long reign (AD 527-565). The other three pieces are: the Code, the Digest, and the Institutes. Together, the four parts are known as the Corpus Juris Civilis
Corpus Juris Civilis
The Corpus Juris Civilis is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Eastern Roman Emperor...
. The Novels are laws enacted after 534, when he promulgated the second edition of the Code.
History
Justinian’s first Code, issued in 529, compiled and harmonized the imperial enactments (constitutions, or constitutions) of previous emperors. After its promulgation, only the Code, and not the prior imperial legislation, could be cited as law. However, in 530 and 531, Justinian issued the quinquaginta decisiones (fifty decisions) that resolved differences among the writings of classical jurists, and he continued to issue other new laws as well. This meant the Code could no longer be the sole, unified source of imperial legislation. Hence, in 534 Justinian issued the Constitutio cordi nobis, creating a second edition of the Code (Codex repetitae praelectionis). This edition integrated his new legislation into the imperial enactments in the first edition and superseded it.Justinian continued to legislate after he created the second edition of the Code. Thus, in his pragmatic sanction of 554 (Sanctio pragmatica pro petitione Vigilii), he foresaw that he would need to maintain a collection of these new constitutions modifying the Code (novellae constitutions, quae post nostri codicis confectionem). This he did in the form of an archive called the Liber legum or Libri legum.
Timeline
Justinian never made an official manuscript compilation of the new laws. Private persons filled this void by making unofficial collections in several forms. The following timeline provides a succinct description of these collections and explains how they were transmitted through the centuries.- 556 Julianus, a law professor in ConstantinopleConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, creates the Epitome Juliani, a summary of 124 novels (or 122, as two are duplicates) from 535-555, for his Latin-speaking-students. The E.J. is a partially annotated Latin summary of the novels, most of which were officially issued in Greek. Because it is in Latin, the Epitome Juliani is the preferred source of the Novels in the West in the early Middle AgesEarly Middle AgesThe Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
, until about 1100, when another version is discovered there. - 556? A collection of 134 novels issued between 535-556 is compiled around this time. Mostly a word-for-word, full-text translation of Greek novels, it also includes those few novels originally in Latin and the Latin versions of a few originally done in both Latin and Greek. When it is discovered in BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
around 1100, it comes to be known as the Authenticum, because IrneriusIrneriusIrnerius , sometimes referred to as lucerna juris , was an Italian jurist, and founder of the School of Glossators and thus of the tradition of Medieval Roman Law....
and other GlossatorGlossatorThe scholars of the 11th and 12th century legal schools in Italy, France and Germany are identified as glossators in a specific sense. They studied Roman Law based on the Digestae, the Codex of Justinian, the Authenticae The scholars of the 11th and 12th century legal schools in Italy, France and...
s think it an official compilation made at Justinian's order. (It is also sometimes called the versio vulgata.) - 575-580 A collection of 168 novels (or 166, as most are in Greek but two are repeated as Latin versions) is created during the reign of Tiberius II ConstantineTiberius II ConstantineTiberius II Constantine was Byzantine Emperor from 574 to 582.During his reign, Tiberius II Constantine gave away 7,200 pounds of gold each year for four years....
. Two manuscripts of this compilation discovered in the Middle Ages—the Venetian and the Florentine—form the basis of print editions during the RenaissanceRenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
that are referred to as the Greek Collection of 168. (Two Greek epitomes of the Novels that did not prove influential for Roman lawRoman lawRoman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
in the West also are compiled around this time. The "Epitome of Athanasi," composed around 572, contains summaries of 153 novels found in the Greek Collection of 168. Unlike those of other collections, these are arranged entirely by subject. "The Epitome of Theodore," using the same novels included in Greek Collection of 168, is compiled between 575-600.) - 600-800 Juliani Epitome manuscripts circulate in Europe. The E.J. is the main source of Roman law there until the Authenticum surfaces. Other parts of what come to be known as Corpus Jurus Civilis are little known in the West.
- 892 The Basilica is published during reign of Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the WiseLeo VI the WiseLeo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
. Based on the Greek Collection of 168 novels, it includes extracts of many novels, along with parts of the Digest, Code, & Institutes, supplemented by scholia (interpretive notes). The Basilica is used later to help reconstruct the Novels. - 12th century The Authenticum appears in Bologna and largely replaces the Epitome Juliani. Justinian's Digest, Institutes, Code, and Novels begin to be called Corpus Juris Civilis (body of the civil law) to differentiate them from the Corpus Juris Canonici (body of the canon, or Church, law). The CIC at that time is organized differently than today. Its units were: each of the three volumes of the Digest; the first 9 books of the Code; and, together as a fifth volume, the Institutes, the last 3 volumes of the Code (Tres libri), and the Novels in the form of the Authenticum. The latter was called Volumen, or Volumen parvum (insignificant volume—as compared with the other volumes of the CIC).
- 13th century The Venetian manuscript (Codex Marcianus--so called because it was housed in the library of St. Mark's in Venice.) An early 16th century copy of this manuscript in the Vatican is referred to as the Palatino-Vaticanus. On the Venetian manuscript, see generally, Noailles, supra note 6, vol. 2 at 5-45. of the 168 novel Greek Collection is created around this time. Its last 3 laws are decrees of the praetorian prefect, 4 are novels of Justin II, and 2 are given twice. Also included, as an appendix, are 13 edicta, or edicts, some of which repeat novels in the main collection.
- 14th century The Florentine manuscript (Codex Laurentianus--called the Laurentianus because it belongs to the Laurentian LibraryLaurentian LibraryThe Laurentian Library is a historical library in Florence, Italy, containing a repository of more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books...
in Florence.) On the Florentine manuscript, see generally, Noailles, supra, note 6, vol. 2 at 107-116. Lodovicio Bolognini made copy of the Florentine manuscript in the early 16th century that is referred to as the Bolognese manuscript or Bononiensis. also based on the 168 novel Greek Collection, but of lower quality, is drafted in 14th century. - 1476 The first print edition of Novels is published in Rome with the Tres Libri of the Code and the Institutes; the novels are based on the Authenticum.
- 1531 Gregorius Holoander compiles the first book consisting only of the Novels—as taken from the Bolognese copy of the Codex Laurentianus.
- 1558 Henry ScrimgeourHenry ScrimgeourHenry Scrimgeour or Scrymgeour was a diplomat and book collector.-Biography:He was born in Dundee, most likely in 1505, but possibly in 1508 or 1509, since Andrew Melville gives Scrimgeour's age at death as sixty-three....
creates an edition of the Novels based on the Palatino-Vaticanus copy of the Venetian manuscript. - 1571 Antonius Contius constructs an influential edition of the Novels using both the Authenticum and 168 novel Greek Collection texts.
- 1834 A German translation of the Novels, by Freiesleben and Schneider, is published as part of Carl Eduard Otto, Bruno Schilling & Carl Friedrich Sintenis's edition of the Corpus Juris Civilis. It is based mainly on the Greek Collection but also uses the Authenticum, the Epitome Juliani, and the Basilica.
- 1840 Eduard Osenbrüggen's edition, based on both the Venetian and Florentine manuscripts of the Greek Collection, is published in the Kriegel brothers' edition of the CJC.
- 1851 Gustav Ernst Heimbach publishes his critical edition of the Authenticum.
- 1873 A critical edition of the Epitome Juliani is issued by Gustav Hänel.
- 1881 Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal's critical edition of the Novels re-establishes many of their subscriptions.
- 1895 The Novels by Rudolf Schoell (completed by Wilhelm Kroll), based on Greek collection of 168 and supplemented by the other versions and critical studies, is issued as volume 3 of Theodor MommsenTheodor MommsenChristian Matthias Theodor Mommsen was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician, archaeologist, and writer generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. His work regarding Roman history is still of fundamental importance for contemporary research...
, Paul Krüger, Schoell, & Kroll's classic 3 volume editio stereotypa of the CIC. - 1932 S.P. Scott's English translation of the CJC published.
- 1943 Fred H. BlumeFred H. BlumeFriedrich Heinrich Blume , or Fred H. Blume, as he referred to himself, was a Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court. He was born in Winzlar, Germany, January 9, 1875. He served as a Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court for 42 years and by himself translated into English Justinian’s Code and the...
sends his English translation of Justinian's Code and Novels to Clyde Pharr. - 2008 Blume's Code and Novels published on Annotated Justinian Code website.